Influenced by Hawthorne

iterary minds have taught and discussedthe novels and short stories of NathanielHawthorne since their publication in themid-19th century. Hawthorne’s dark romanticworks, including notable novels like TheScarlet Letter and The House of the SevenGables, have shaped American literatureand have garnered a following of scholarsinterested in his views on romance, history,and the inherent evil of humanity.

Associate professor of English Derek
Pacheco discovered a love for Hawthorne
during his undergraduate studies. “I took a
senior seminar on Nathaniel Hawthorne and
discovered The Whole History of Grandfather’s
Chair, a series of children’s books about
early New England history,” says Pacheco.

“I remember being really surprised to learnthat Hawthorne wrote literature for childrenand not just novels like The Scarlet Letter. Tothis day, one of my favorites is A Wonder Bookfor Girls and Boys, which retells classic Greekmyths as fairy tales for children.”Pacheco continued studying andresearching Hawthorne in graduate school;one of his advisors, a foremost literary scholaron Hawthorne, encouraged him to continuehis studies. With this passion, Pacheco hasbeen appointed president-elect of theNathaniel Hawthorne Society, a nationalorganization dedicated to the global study andappreciation of the influential 19th-centuryauthor and his works.

Pacheco’s dedication to Americanliterature and Hawthorne has impactedhis research and teaching career as well asinfluenced him to write his first book,

Moral Enterprise: Literature and Education
in Antebellum America (The Ohio State
University Press). It focuses on
transcendentalism, education, and
professional authorship in mid-19th-
century America and includes a chapter
on Hawthorne’s early children’s literature,
which grew out of Pacheco’s earlier interests
in Hawthorne. Pacheco is in the process
of writing his second book, Hawthorne’s
Literary Offspring.

As president-elect of the NathanielHawthorne Society, Pacheco will work withcurrent president Sandra Hughes of WesternKentucky University before he officiallyassumes the position in 2018. The HawthorneSociety promotes scholarly research but alsoengages with broader questions of publicinterest: Are authors like Hawthorne stillrelevant or worth our time? What value mightwe glean from him, what lessons for adigital and increasingly vocational age? CanHawthorne help us make the case for thehumanities’ value today?

Pacheco will also participate in aninternational collaboration during his term.

“In 2018, we’re hosting an internationalconference in Kyoto, Japan, co-sponsored byour partners: the Edgar Allan Poe StudiesAssociation, the Poe Society of Japan, andthe Nathaniel Hawthorne Society of Japan,”Pacheco explains. “I’m really looking for wardto it!”Pacheco previously served as assistanteditor of The Nathaniel Hawthorne Review,which is a scholarly publication distributed bythe society containing essays and discussionabout the life and works of Hawthorne.

Pacheco’s interest in literary greats goes
beyond Hawthorne, too; he also serves as
the editor of the Emerson Society Papers, a
newsletter that features articles and news
about the Ralph Waldo Emerson Society.

Pacheco’s passion for Hawthorne’sworks has shaped his career and his future.

He continues to educate his students and
the general population on the influence of
Hawthorne, and as he moves into his position
as president-elect, he will continue to share
the influence of Hawthorne on a global stage.